Eye on Austin

If by now it hasn’t sunk in, it soon will. As soon as state Rep. Carl Isett, R-Lubbock, gives up his seat on May 31, it will be hard to ignore that come Jan. 11, when the 82nd Legislature is sworn in, the Panhandle/South Plains region will be represented by at least three freshmen and possibly four.

For people not keeping up with the local delegation, Isett announced in mid-December that he would not seek re-election this year in House District 84. Two weeks later, Rep.

By now is all over the news. State officials are projecting that the shortfall the Texas Legislature is expecting for the next biennium could be as high as $18 billion.

Could it be higher? Well, you’d be the judge. Back in September when Texas House Speaker Joe Straus first mentioned the likelihood of a deficit, the estimated amount was $12 billion. Then, two months ago, at a House Appropriations Committee hearing, the figure went up to $15 billion.

The primary season is over but that doesn’t necessarily mean that, at least for the Panhandle and the South Plains, the political activity will take a break till the fall election.

Pretty soon you are likely to hear noise, particularly from the Republican Party, because Amarillo businessman Tom Mechler says he is just as committed to run for chairman of the state party as he was a year ago when then-Chairwoman Tina Benkiser was in charge.

“The problems that existed when I entered the race (last June) still exist today,” Mechler said this afternoon.

Lubbock accountant Charles Perry, who is challenging veteran state Rep. Delwin Jones in the April 13 Republican primary runoff, announced Monday that the National Rifle Association is endorsing him.

“Delwin Jones was the only Republican House member to vote against the bill to carry a concealed handgun,” Alice Tripp, legislative director of the Texas State Rifle Association Political Action Committee said in a statement Perry released.

Lubbock accountant Charles Perry, who is facing longtime state Rep. Delwin Jones in the April 13 Republican runoff, has not gotten too many endorsements. But this week the first-time office seeker received the backing of the political arm of the Texas Association of Business, one of the most powerful groups in the state.

TAB’s political action committee initially supported Lubbock attorney Zach Brady in the House District 83 Republican primary but Brady finished third in the March 2 election and didn’t make the runoff.

This is not an item that the typical voter pays attention to but earlier today state Rep. Delwin Jones picked up the endorsement of an influential group that until last week’s Democratic and Republican primaries supported Jones’ challenger Zach Brady.

In a press release, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association said it endorsed the Lubbock Republican in the April 13 runoff in Texas House District 83. The Association represents more than 15,000 members in Texas and Oklahoma.

Lubbock attorney Zach Brady, who is challenging longtime incumbent Delwin Jones in House District 83, has gotten the endorsement of one of the most powerful groups in the state – the Texas Association of Business.

The official announcement will come Friday morning at the Lubbock Club, the Brady campaign announced Thursday afternoon.

“The next legislative session will present challenges to our state that demand true, conservative leadership that only Zach Brady can provide,” TAB president Bill Hammond said in a statement the campaign released.

You know a political campaign is going nowhere when top aides resign after early voting has started. In this instance, it is the troubled gubernatorial campaign of Democratic hopeful Farouk Shami, the hair-products millionaire from Houston.

The Austin American-Statesman reported early this afternoon that several of Shami’s aides resigned after a chaotic day triggered by a bizarre e-mail exchange Capitol and political reporters received.

This just came in a little more than an hour ago. Dallas public TV station KERA has just announced that it will sponsor a Feb. 8 debate between Democratic hopefuls Bill White, the former Mayor of Houston, and Houston hair-care magnate Farouk Shami.

One question that comes to mind is what criteria the station used to invite the two candidates considering there are seven Democrats running in the March 2 primary and with the exception of White they are virtually unknown. The only thing Shami has going for him is his money.